2012 Olympic Gold Medals are Mostly Silver
A gold medal has been awarded to the top Olympic athlete in an event since the 1904 St. Louis Summer Olympics. Although this tradition has stuck, many things have changed since the St. Louis games.
I hadn’t planned on writing much about the St. Louis Olympics, but some of the research proved too bizarre to hold back. For starters, the games were supposed to be in Chicago; but, the World Fair organizers in St. Louis promised to hold their own sporting event that would eclipse the Olympic games, unless they were awarded the games. So, the games were awarded to St. Louis.
During the marathon, Frederick Lorz dropped out of the race after nine miles and rode a car back to the start/finish to collect his clothes. But, the car broke down so he had to run the rest of the way. When officials thought he was the first to finish, he played along but was later found out and was banned for a year. He won the Boston Marathon the following year.
The actual winner of the marathon, Thomas Hicks, had a bit of help from his trainers who gave him a mix of brandy and strychnine sulfate — a common rat poison which would “stimulate” the nervous system in small doses. Another runner, cuban postman Felix Carbajal, rested in an Apple orchard where he snacked on rotten apples. He ended up taking a nap but still finished in fourth place.
The first two Africans to compete in the Olympics did so by chance. They also ran the marathon, although they were actually in town as part of the Boer War exhibit in the World Fair. They finished ninth and twelfth, although many were disappointed in the ninth place finish by Len Tau. Many believed he could have done better if he wasn’t chased a mile off course by dogs.
The games officially lasted four months, but most of the events took place over a six day period. Since the World Fair was in the same city at the same time, the Olympics were almost a sideshow to the fair. This, combined with the fact that the games were so poorly organized, nearly made St. Louis the last Olympics. 108 years later, the tables have turned. The World Fair is not widely talked about, but it still exists: Expo 2012 wraps up on August 12th in Yeosu, South Korea.
South Korea is not shy of the Olympics though, they hosted the games in 1988. They picked up 13 gold medals four years ago in Beijing and will likely bring some back from London too. So, lets find out what it’s worth.
Each of the 2012 London gold medals weigh in at approximately 400 grams. While it looks like solid gold, atomic element 79 only makes up 1.34% of the medal. The rest of the gold medal is 92.5% silver and 6.16% copper. This is pretty typical.
The International Olympic Committee requires that gold medals contain at least 6 grams of gold and a minimum of 92.5% silver. The silver medal must also contain a minimum of 92.5% silver.
Two years ago, Vancouver’s Olympic gold was 575 grams. Although much heavier than London’s, this year’s medals are actually the most costly ever awarded due to the high price of gold.
In fact, gold prices have significantly increased the cost and value of recent olympic medals. In 2004, an Athen’s gold medal was worth about $155 in raw materials. Beijing’s 2008 gold contents were worth about $393. Vancouver’s came in around $508 and London’s gold medals could be melted down to about $728 worth of gold and silver (approx $334 in gold + $394 silver).
But, don’t expect to find one at your local pawn shop. Because of their rarity, symbolic and sentimental significance they are worth far more than their weight in gold (and silver). Olympic medals are rarely ever sold, but it does happen. In 2004, a Polish athlete auctioned her gold medal for charity, which fetched $82,599 for children with leukemia.
Chad Upton is the editor-in-chief of Broken Secrets and an official Yahoo Answers contributor.
Thanks for reading,
Sources: London 2012, Yahoo! Sports, The Telegraph, wikipedia (1904 Olympics)
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Only Olympic Gold Medalists know that Olympic Gold Medals are made all of God and Gold.
Hmm…Learn something new everyday.
Thanks Mr. Chad Upton & Yahoo!Answer Blog
I do wish the World Expo had a bit more publicity. A friend went to the Shanghai one in 2010, and she told me she had a blast!
Incredible stuff – thanks. Mind you, when you think of the price and rarity of gold, it’s not all that surprising. I guess the medal is to show they’re won it, not that it’s worth THAT much.
)
@ OhHoneyHoney – not all believe in god – you don’t just hope/pray your way to gold. The article just said that there is silver in the gold medals.. woooooow.
yes
They stopped making the Olympic medals out of actual gold years ago.
I have heard this before, interesting isn’t it
Technically, NO one ever wins a ‘gold’ medal.
I like the stories of the Olympics. Who let a dog on the track?!?! Apparently they didn’t have leash laws back then, huh?
The majority of people wouldn’t know this so this is a good article. If they were made of all gold then the Olympians would start selling them because gold is worth a lot today.
i knew that before anyone that did.
Gold Medal – It is composed of 550 grams of silver (at least 925–1000 grade) covered with 6 grams of pure gold.
Silver Medal – It has the same composition as the first place medal without the gilding.
Bronze Medal – It is mostly copper with some tin and zinc.
london opening suck sssss
beijin winsss
People would know this if they read the newspaper or watched tv…
aha~learned a lot, thanks very much!!^_^
St. Louis Olympics if it exactly happened as told it’s hilarious!
I’ve just got to watch the first gold Filipino American medalist for women’s team gymnastics.
yep. its only logical that it is. i mean i did a little number crunching so im just copying and pasting:
370g silver= 356.04
24.64g bronze= $2.99
5.36g gold= $300.18 roughly as of august
300.18/5.36 is about $56
$56.00*400= $22401.4925
now, i dont know how many total golds are given out because there are about 302, but factor in events like relays, idk. so for the sake of the argument, lets say 302 golds.
302*22401.4925= $6765250.74
they would have to spend $6.77 million usd on gold medals alone. and that is closer to $8-$9 million when you figure in relays and team events like basketball or soccer.
hi i like
wow i always wanted to know this thanks so much for this interesting info turns out gold medals are worth allot more than i thought l wanna win one so i can sell it i could do the money
Yes, I did. Wasn’t the last “gold” medal in 1912? It’s now silver (with a bit of copper) but has to be coated with at least six grams of gold.
yup i did
It is better said no one sees the Gold before the champion. Powerful. Fair. Fashion Roman Red.
Ferry happily, iIt works.
solid gold is too soft and malleable to make anything,so it has to be mixed with other harder metals before you make anything from it.
I know that the Olympic Gold Metals was only gold-plated versus pure gold but I always thought they were made mostly from tin, not silver. Interesting!
When my daughter received a Gold Metal in 2009 for the Junior Olympics it wasn’t Gold.. Made me wonder about the Olympics… Thanks for sharing this story.
@football5680
Olympics medal worth much more than gold!
What does it matter what the medal is made of? You are not going to sell it if you won one because it cements your place in the elite of the planet! I think the medal is insignifgant to the actual achievement and the effort the Olympian has made.
GOLD AND SILVER ARE MERE METALS …..THE OLYPMIC WORD SHINES BRIGHTEST!
Wow, I’d be pretty upset to find out that my gold medal was silver. But I’d still be happy to have, be an olympian, and well, support my country.
Sweet, i never knew that :O
What about the bronze medal?
I think that it is a good program.and it very popular in over the world and also to sear knowledge for each other or other country and understanding about other culture.
In order to have gold shaped you need a mixture that’s added to the metal. The mixture is made with silver usually, it give it the solid resulting object.
Interesting, thanks, but very sad, too. The Olympics event generates $100Ms — maybe billions in revenue — and what, they can’t give real gold to the people who make the event worth watching – ouch.
Cleveland 08/13/12
The very thought,.Wow,.!?! Believe you’re worng
man,.? That would be a Counterfeit,.!!
The pureness of the event would warrnat a PURE
Gold Medal,.!
It be more that a Medal,.as award for wins,.It is
suppose to worth its weight in,..PURE GOLD,.?!?
Eliasis Yahwehei ( The Main Man )